Living 75 miles outside of NYC we try to take advantage of the cultural events that the city has to offer. Many people are under the impression that the city is expensive and difficult to navigate, however I am here to tell you something different.

Last night I had the privilege of taking my nine year old to the Yankees game with a couple of his buddies. I asked him ahead of time what he wanted for his birthday.

“Mom, I want to be with our family and a couple of buddies to see the Yanks.”

No Brainer. The only problem was that I had to manage to take 7 of us to the game with parking and dinner for under $350. That is the budget we set for each of our kids and that includes their gift.

How a Mom Can Create a City Outing on a Budget

Immediately, I went to work with my friend Google.My first win was finding a website called Goldstar.com that offers fun ideas and half price tickets on many different events including Yankee tickets. The bad news was that my tickets ended up being 5 rows from the top of the stadium, right below the flags flying on top where everyone below looked like ants. The good news was that they were behind home plate and my $28 tickets cost me $9 a piece.

My husband suggested that we arrive 2 hours before the game when the stadium opened so we could watch batting practice. The kids loved it. They went right down to field level and between three kids, the players handed each of them a ball. It was sunny and beautiful and they got a feel for what the action is like on the field.

After that we went into the Hard Rock Café for dinner where they featured $5.95 kids meals including their drinks. We all got burgers. The place was rocking, and the best part was that the bill at Yankee Stadium at the Hard Rock for 7 of us was under $100.

From there we went off to the seats. I have to say we had more fun at the top of the stadium than we ever had in the best seats in the house. It wasn’t crowded. There was a June breeze blowing through the stadium. Each inning offered entertainment on the big screens and we didn’t care how we acted or how silly we got. No one was watching. We didn’t care if we left early or brought the kids to the shops. The tickets were $9.

All in all, a great night in the big Apple and we managed to pull off a night under our budget that my little guy will never forget.